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VANCOUVER - Heroin and cocaine users in Vancouver now have a safe haven where they can inject their drugs - the first government-approved safe injection site in North America. There are an estimated 5,000 drug addicts living in Vancouver's downtown eastside. Many shoot-up on the sidewalks and back alleys of the neighbourhood. This year alone, 37 addicts have died of overdoses on the street. Dr. John Blatherwick, Vancouver's chief medical health officer, says those numbers have to hit home. 'People are dying. If people were (dying) in other parts of the city, in other parts of the province, as they are concentrated in the downtown eastside, we would do something,' he said. Blatherwick says if people can't sympathize with the human cost, then they might be able to understand the health cost. If the safe injection site results in fewer drug overdoses, HIV and hepatitis C infections, it will save tax dollars. Addicts will have to be buzzed into the site. They'll be given clean needles, a cooker for their drugs, and tourniquets. They then make their way to one of the mirrored stalls where they'll be allowed to inject their drugs...
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